I doubt any of the above will be a solution. They ALL wick moisture. Go with tile.

none. or get something you can throw in the washer. (obviously a small rug). The key to removing the odor/stain is to get it immediately, before it's had time to dry. fresh cat urine really has no strong odor. You could immediately wash it out w/the Natures Miracle enzyme product. If it has sat and has an odor, you can remove it w/that product, but the cat will always smell it and go back to it. Just don't have a rug!

None. A very, very clean litter box with a regular scooping twice a day, and no less than twice a week change of litter.

A cat will return to wherever he peed. Check the floor boards, get rid of the rug. When an accident happens.....flood with Hydrogen peroxide and a bit of Dawn blue liquid. The urine scent will cause him to return and mark again. If in the floor boards? Rip them. OUT.

Smart Strand ( nylon) has a fiber that can be bleached. But once in the floor below? Toast.

Thanks, folks, but apparently some background is necessary

1. The floors are century+ old heart pine so they are not going anywhere. Fortunately they have 4 coats of poly and rug pads protecting them from the stink.

2. The issue is not one of the cat rejecting his litter box. It's an anxiety and/or revenge thing. Since his "re-plumbing", he (almost) only does it when we leave for 24 hours or more. We have excellent cat-sitters next door who adore the cats, and the cats like them. Last time we left, and put the cats in the care of the neighbors, I put plastic all over the favorite pee-spots--- Cat peed a couple of times on the plastic and unfortunately some ran over the edge onto the rug. It costs $50 per night to professionally board two cats. I'd really like to not have to do that. (Besides the pee events do happen for no apparent reason once in a while and I don't want to permanently have plastic on the rugs.)

3. I 've tried probably a dozen or more types of odor-killers. Nature's Miracle is useless on this guy's pee. The only thing that makes a dent is "Dumb Cat" and that takes several applications with wet-vaccing in between. It gets expensive and time-consuming but it does prolong the life of the rug.

4) I've considered a smaller rug (or no rug) but it's a 20' x 20' room and the furniture looks random without something to define the seating area. (Also it echoes!) A smaller rug in the center of the seating area doesn't look right, at least not to me. There are huge pocket doors on two walls, two sets of French doors on another wall, two windows on the front wall, and a fireplace in the corner-- A large rug also helps define the traffic zones.

So the fact is that I have become resigned the to likelihood of buying a new rug every so often (thank you overstock clearance). I'd just like some information on what fiber would absorb the pee the least. (I cannot find this in a Google search. Seems most people are concerned about stains, not stank.)

Either that, or if someone can suggest how a smaller rug or no rug would work in this space I'd like to know. Thank you

Interesting--- I wonder if Mohawk makes an area rug from that material? Having one custom-made sounds expensive (?) I will definitely look into it. Thanks.

(Oh and the cat is not going anywhere-- aside from his problem, he's super-sweet and loving and we put thousands of dollars into his urethrostomy (plumbing work).

Get a indoor/ outdoor rug. You can pressure wash them and clean them with odo ban. Ask me how I know. Maybe go to a pet specific site as this site is mostly high end design and not necessarily real world advice.

Have you tried any products that may help your cat feel less stressed? We've got an anxious kitty and we have Feliway plugged in several places and we also give her a supplement called Zylene. Both of those seem to take the edge off.

DH: I've tried Feliway to no avail. I have not tried any kitty drugs, though. That is something to think about for when we go out of town.

Hockeymom: OK, how do you know? :-) (about the indoor-outdoor rugs)

And what kind of indoor-outdoor rug would you recommend? They come in different fiber types. I went to Home Depot this morning and looked at patio rugs made of polypropylene.

alh1881,,,i had a cat who did that type of peeing when I brought a new kitten into the house. territory, insecurity, stress,,,all play a role. I tried everything. everything. last resort was kitty Prozac. It did help a bit, but by this time she had marked places in the house I didn't even know about. I rehomed her to an elderly lady who could give her plenty of attention. The cat was a Siamese mix and they're very particular cats. They don't really like to share.

Try some meds and see if that helps. You can also get carpet squares to make your rug. If the cat ruins it, you can just replace the one square. Put a sheet of plastic underneath so it doesn't hit the wood.

Talk to your vet about the Zylene to see if it's appropriate for your kitty when you go out of town. Our vet recommended it to us. Our vet sells it, but we can also get it for about the same price, but more conveniently on Amazon.

Oh, and not sure if you've tried Fizzion or not to clean up urine. It's the cleaner that Jackson Galaxy, of "My Cat from Hell" recommends. It's very different than all the other enzymatic cleaners I've ever used, some of which were up to $60/gallon with somewhat mixed results (and I agree, Nature's Miracle did absolute nothing to help in my situation). I understand doing everything for your kitty and not giving up even when it's very tiresome and inconvenient. When I adopted my kitties, I adopted them for life and I'm as committed to taking care of them for their lifetime as I would be if I adopted children. They are my fur babies. I am willing to not have a magazine-worthy home as a trade off for the love, fun and joy they bring into my life.

No rug then , cat urine is potent its easier to wash the floor with a bit of bleach and open the windows.

Mohawk Smart Strand nylon for pets...... will be bleach-able. An area rug can be made with ease.

https://www.mohawkflooring.com/flooring/carpet/carpet-for-pets

Thanks for the tips, Jan. I'll be looking into those too.

I don't have a cat, but I have a dog and I have the carpet than Jan mentioned.

It's okay. May be your best bet at this point and you can probably get a remnant bound and from the size you have on a photo, you probably can roll it up to take outside to pressure wash...

If you go to any professional carpet cleaners forum (I was looking for what to use to clean it) they don't like it. It's very difficult to get any kind of build up off of. I believe (I may be wrong here) you can only use water on it when you clean it otherwise it voids the warranty...

We DO have the pad that has a plastic coating on one side...

Thanks to everyone for all your advice.

1) I looked into Smart Strand. It appears Home Depot carries it but under a different name. It looked quite nice-- much nicer than a patio rug-- however it was a little expensive for me (around $4 per square foot--$600+ just for material not counting the cost of binding) considering that I don't know for sure whether I'd be able to get any future smells out or not. (Yes, I am cheap, or as I prefer to think of it, "thrifty".) My husband and I were thinking about it, though.

2) I will ask the vet about Kitty Prozac. My problem cat isn't Siamese --he's just an insecure baby. Ironically, our other cat *is* part Siamese. She is not possessive, just full of self-confidence and has never, ever had an "accident".

3) I'll also look into Fizzion cleaner in the future. That's one I haven't tried.

4. Other research I've done suggests that polypropylene or olefin WITHOUT a jute backing is best material in a generic sense. Apparently jute tends to hold odors.

Finally though-- here's what I've settled on: I looked up my old Overstock order for the existing stinky rug to see exactly what it's specs were. The rug is three years old. To my amazement, Overstock still carries it and it's on sale for $225. This is a 10' x 13 rug--- big. At that price it's a no-brainer. Especially since I really like the existing rug. It doesn't look or feel like a cheap rug, IMO.

I am also getting a good felt pad to put underneath. My theory is that a felt pad will soak up excess fluid so the rug won't absorb as much, and then I could cut bad spots out of the pad and tape new felt back in. Also I'm going to put a sheet of plastic between the pad and wood floor to protect the wood floor.

Thanks again for all the advice,

Ann

Sounds like a great plan, Ann! Thanks for sharing the results of all your research! : )

If the cat does it mainly when you are away are you able to remove the mat from the floor and replace it when you return? I have a nightly routine picking up certain mats and closing doors as we have a very vengeful cat.

Nylon is better than polyester for not absorbing smells. It is easy to wash as it doesn't absorb liquids much at all. Check JCPenney's website for large washable rugs. You can use carpet tape on the bottom to tape one or more together along the edges. Remove tape to wash in large commercial machines at the laundromat.

Janelle,

Last time we left I picked up all the smaller rugs. I left the large ones in place and put pieces of plastic over the vulnerable areas. Unfortunately the urine ran over the edge of the plastic onto the one rug.

I think for the new rug I'll put a huge piece of plastic over the entire rug when we go away.

Apple pie,

Interesting idea about taping small, washable rugs together. I might have to do that if the next rug gets ruined. Also you are the first person to suggest nylon. I will look into it for future reference.

Hockeymom84 is right. There are some nice ones, I have an 8 x 10Turkish kilim design from Pottery Barn. Even if I didn't have an animal problem, this rug is really nice looking.

Have you considered isolating kitty, in a room without carpet or large cat cage, when you will be gone for the long periods of time?

A cage like this can be placed in front of a window. If this seems "cruel," cats are often "boarded" in much smaller cages.

• I'm with you.. You just don't raise an animal/family pet for 6,8,10 years and throw them away or put them down because they misbehave or have a problem. If so, you shouldn't have one in the first place.. I have a 16 year old and she's not going anywhere.. I have hardwoods and in the winter they are pretty cold so I put a 6x8 rug down in the living room area but she will pee on the rug. I don't know why.. Her pan is cleaned every day. I have multiple cats and she's the only one who does this.. It may be age related. I just don't know. Rug companies should take these kinds of problems into account and develop something for us that will not allow the urine to sink in or has a natural scent unnoticeable to humans, that will discourage them from going on it.. I have purchased indoor/outdoor rugs for this area but I'd really like to have something softer..